Patch Election Q&A: Rob Watermann on Question #2

The question:

What are your specific ideas to make the village more business-friendly? How can Montgomery attract more businesses, and keep the ones that are here? What types of businesses would you like to see come to the village?

Business friendly is a term that has been discussed often lately. We should all be grateful for the businesses we have currently in our community, especially in this poor economy. We should all patronize businesses that have a direct result to the success of our village. We all have important roles to play. As a resident it means keeping our sales tax dollars here, as a village it means working together for the benefit of all. Business friendly means listening to our business owners and understanding their frustrations, it means trying to accomplish goals together.

Business friendly means being open to discussions and making common sense judgments when they can improve our business community. We must be very careful though, and I will explain why. First is code enforcement and the direct effect upon other businesses. If one business has 12” weeds and is an eyesore they need to be swiftly dealt with as they are becoming a nuisance to other businesses. If a business has a deteriorated roof or an unsafe structure these issues need to be addressed or else safety could be at risk.

Fee collection is sometimes brought up when business friendly is discussed. Currently the village is owed in excess of many thousands from businesses that have failed to pay the village for services. One of those businesses was going to come to Montgomery to locate. We spent tens of thousands and sped all our planning up to accommodate and compete in order to be business friendly. In the end they decided to locate elsewhere because they found a facility that better met their needs of rail logistics and have yet to pay.  These businesses have essentially robbed the services that we provided them and we are the losers. We must be careful when it comes to business friendly as it can have a down side as well.

As for keeping our businesses in Montgomery, we must maintain good roads, respectable code enforcement, and a positive business environment. Supporting the Greater Montgomery Chamber of Commerce as well as the Montgomery Economic Development Corporation is vital to maintaining a rich diversity of business and bringing new economic growth.  I believe it is the little things that make our community a jewel. Having a pro-business atmosphere is necessary to our recovery. With 4 months remaining we have already achieved our estimated sales tax revenue. Businesses in Montgomery are on the upswing and we are very fortunate that not many have failed.

The village in cooperation with the MEDC and our development department has compiled a list of the many businesses that we would favor in our community. Several years ago we provided a resident survey that gave everyone a chance to make suggestions of what businesses they would like to see in Montgomery.  I would like to see some variety added such as restaurants, specialty stores and auto dealers, yet I am always first concerned with our current businesses and want to make sure they stay profitable.